Description Popocatépetl volcano’s activity is increasing. On 25 Jan at 10:10 local time, an ash explosion produced a plume of 3 km height drifting NE. During the past days, strong degassing and steaming has been observed as well as periods of low-frequency tremor. At night (see webcam image), a constant glow can be seen from the summit crater, suggesting that the lava dome might have started a new phase of growth. Authorities recommend a safety distance from the volcano of 12 km radius, and the alert level remains at “yellow”. Now India TV News’ report of the recent eruption of Mexico’s Popocatépetl Volcano.

And news from Santorini; after the nearby earthquakes the scientists at least decided to speak up: [link to www.volcano-news.com] The highly unusual swarm of earthquakes SW of Santorini on the main fault zone that also defines the volcanic vents of the region continues with about 10 quakes larger than magnitude 2 during the past 24 hours. 2 of the quakes were magnitude 4 and 4.7, respectively. Greek media start to pick up the story and become increasingly interested:

Today the wall of silence seems to be falling as a major Sunday newspaper has exclusive interviews with a number of Greek seismologists and geologists on the matter and some information is now public. 1. Inflation From 1993 until 2010 there was deflation in the caldera of about 1cm/year, since the beginning of 2011 that has changed to inflation centered at a radius of 15 km on the north part of the caldera, rapid episodes of inflation have been recorded at intervals that coincide with bursts in seismic activity. Since August the intensity of the phenomenon warranted a rise to alert level 4 (red), where it has remained ever since.

2. Magma column A displacement of 107 cubic meters has been located 1km north of the central island of Nea Kameni at a depth of 4 km, it is hypothesized that it is a magma intrusion, located right at the center of the most seismicity active part of the caldera.

3. CO2. Co2 levels have jumped to 39 tonnes/day along with the emission of other gasses, a rising gas column has been observed outside the port of Thirassia in the caldera (the island on the west rim).

4. Water temperature. The rise in sea water temperature in the caldera has been confirmed.

Most of the Greek scientists have brushed any concerns saying that conditions are normal and that has happened before, Euthimios Lekkas, geologist from Athens University, even said on TV that there is no danger even of a large earthquake in the vicinity of the island, the next day there were 3 earthquakes magnitude 5 and above, 50 km to the SW at the other end of the fault line. Noticeable exception, foreign geologists have a very different opinion, Michelle Parks, a geologist from Oxford, mentioned that the evidence points to something important, there is volcanic activity and the volcano is now potentially active at depth. Consensus is that the volcano has woken up in early 2011, but opinions differ mainly on the lines of nationality of the scientists.

Update on Grímsfjall volcano glacier floodPosted on January 29, 2012 by Jón Frímann During the past several hours the amount of water in the glacier flood from Grímsfjall volcano has not dropped a lot, but this glacier flood started two days ago (27.01.2012 around 12:00 UTC). But that might be down to heavy rain in the area. Normally a glacier flood from Grímsvatn lake (inside the Grímsfjall volcano caldera) last for about one to two days during a normal glacier flood. It is believed that this glacier flood is from Grímsfjall volcano glacier lake. But it might be hard to confirm this during this time of the year.

I have known for some time now that Grímsfjall volcano is preparing for a new eruption. This I know because of the increase in earthquake activity and increased hydro thermal activity in Grímsfjall volcano. So far there is nothing that suggest that Grímsfjall volcano is going to erupt this time around, at least for the moment. I am expecting this glacier flood to be over in the next several hours. No earthquakes have happened in Grímsfjall volcano during this glacier flood. I do not expect them to take place unless magma starts moving inside Grímsfjall volcano. Be that dike intrusion or start of an eruption.

And news from Santorini; after the nearby earthquakes the scientists at least decided to speak up: [link to www.volcano-news.com] The highly unusual swarm of earthquakes SW of Santorini on the main fault zone that also defines the volcanic vents of the region continues with about 10 quakes larger than magnitude 2 during the past 24 hours. 2 of the quakes were magnitude 4 and 4.7, respectively. Greek media start to pick up the story and become increasingly interested:

Today the wall of silence seems to be falling as a major Sunday newspaper has exclusive interviews with a number of Greek seismologists and geologists on the matter and some information is now public. 1. Inflation From 1993 until 2010 there was deflation in the caldera of about 1cm/year, since the beginning of 2011 that has changed to inflation centered at a radius of 15 km on the north part of the caldera, rapid episodes of inflation have been recorded at intervals that coincide with bursts in seismic activity. Since August the intensity of the phenomenon warranted a rise to alert level 4 (red), where it has remained ever since.

2. Magma column A displacement of 107 cubic meters has been located 1km north of the central island of Nea Kameni at a depth of 4 km, it is hypothesized that it is a magma intrusion, located right at the center of the most seismicity active part of the caldera.

3. CO2. Co2 levels have jumped to 39 tonnes/day along with the emission of other gasses, a rising gas column has been observed outside the port of Thirassia in the caldera (the island on the west rim).

4. Water temperature. The rise in sea water temperature in the caldera has been confirmed.

Most of the Greek scientists have brushed any concerns saying that conditions are normal and that has happened before, Euthimios Lekkas, geologist from Athens University, even said on TV that there is no danger even of a large earthquake in the vicinity of the island, the next day there were 3 earthquakes magnitude 5 and above, 50 km to the SW at the other end of the fault line. Noticeable exception, foreign geologists have a very different opinion, Michelle Parks, a geologist from Oxford, mentioned that the evidence points to something important, there is volcanic activity and the volcano is now potentially active at depth. Consensus is that the volcano has woken up in early 2011, but opinions differ mainly on the lines of nationality of the scientists.

Quoting: Luisport

i just want to point out something to you here.

2. Magma column A displacement of 107 cubic meters has been located 1km north of the central island of Nea Kameni at a depth of 4 km, it is hypothesized that it is a magma intrusion, located right at the center of the most seismicity active part of the caldera.

how the FUCK have they managed so accurately to measure that, at 4Km depth?

hmmm?

i mean, they're not saying 'about 100 cubic metres', are they? No, it's EXACTLY 107 cubic metres! at such great depth as well?

they make out to us all that they are 'baffled', and they don't know what is happening, when in reality, they know EXACTLY what is going on, and actively obfuscate the truth from the people who PAY THEIR WAGES!

And news from Santorini; after the nearby earthquakes the scientists at least decided to speak up: [link to www.volcano-news.com] The highly unusual swarm of earthquakes SW of Santorini on the main fault zone that also defines the volcanic vents of the region continues with about 10 quakes larger than magnitude 2 during the past 24 hours. 2 of the quakes were magnitude 4 and 4.7, respectively. Greek media start to pick up the story and become increasingly interested:

Today the wall of silence seems to be falling as a major Sunday newspaper has exclusive interviews with a number of Greek seismologists and geologists on the matter and some information is now public. 1. Inflation From 1993 until 2010 there was deflation in the caldera of about 1cm/year, since the beginning of 2011 that has changed to inflation centered at a radius of 15 km on the north part of the caldera, rapid episodes of inflation have been recorded at intervals that coincide with bursts in seismic activity. Since August the intensity of the phenomenon warranted a rise to alert level 4 (red), where it has remained ever since.

2. Magma column A displacement of 107 cubic meters has been located 1km north of the central island of Nea Kameni at a depth of 4 km, it is hypothesized that it is a magma intrusion, located right at the center of the most seismicity active part of the caldera.

3. CO2. Co2 levels have jumped to 39 tonnes/day along with the emission of other gasses, a rising gas column has been observed outside the port of Thirassia in the caldera (the island on the west rim).

4. Water temperature. The rise in sea water temperature in the caldera has been confirmed.

Most of the Greek scientists have brushed any concerns saying that conditions are normal and that has happened before, Euthimios Lekkas, geologist from Athens University, even said on TV that there is no danger even of a large earthquake in the vicinity of the island, the next day there were 3 earthquakes magnitude 5 and above, 50 km to the SW at the other end of the fault line. Noticeable exception, foreign geologists have a very different opinion, Michelle Parks, a geologist from Oxford, mentioned that the evidence points to something important, there is volcanic activity and the volcano is now potentially active at depth. Consensus is that the volcano has woken up in early 2011, but opinions differ mainly on the lines of nationality of the scientists.

Quoting: Luisport

i just want to point out something to you here.

2. Magma column A displacement of 107 cubic meters has been located 1km north of the central island of Nea Kameni at a depth of 4 km, it is hypothesized that it is a magma intrusion, located right at the center of the most seismicity active part of the caldera.

how the FUCK have they managed so accurately to measure that, at 4Km depth?

hmmm?

i mean, they're not saying 'about 100 cubic metres', are they? No, it's EXACTLY 107 cubic metres! at such great depth as well?

they make out to us all that they are 'baffled', and they don't know what is happening, when in reality, they know EXACTLY what is going on, and actively obfuscate the truth from the people who PAY THEIR WAGES!

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 9284451

I'm shure this is a typing error. This is a scientific report so it's 100% credible!

people who say the Earth is 4.5 billion years old are idiots. There's no way the center of the earth would still be hot lava if the earth was 4 billion years old. Space is extremely cold, every night heat pours off the planet into space.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 6129226

No YOU are an idiot

the vast majority of the heat in Earth's interior—up to 90 percent—is fueled by the decaying of radioactive isotopes like Potassium 40, Uranium 238, 235, and Thorium 232 contained within the mantle. These isotopes radiate heat as they shed excess energy and move toward stability. "The amount of heat caused by this radiation is almost the same as the total heat measured emanating from the Earth."

Earthquake swarm in Katla volcano calderaPosted on January 30, 2012 by Jón Frímann This morning there was an earthquake swarm in Katla volcano. This is the first earthquake swarm of the year 2012. This earthquake swarm is most likely created by an dike intrusion. Based on how dense the earthquake swarm appears to be. But that is often an sign of an dike intrusion in an volcano. How this earthquake swarm is going to evolve over the next few hours impossible to know for sure. That depends on what the magma is going to do that is creating this earthquake swarm. The earthquakes can be seen on my geophone web page here (English). The geophone at Skeiðflöt is going to go up this week. So all activity in Katla volcano is going to appear more clearly following that. Sadly. No high resolution of the earthquakes that take place is not going to be available until I move back to Denmark. As my main earthquake computer is offline and is going to be so until that time.

I am going to post updates to this if anything more happens. But it might take a while as I am travelling today to Reykjavík area and tomorrow I am going to Skeiðflöt tomorrow. [link to www.jonfr.com]

Earthquake swarm in Katla volcano calderaPosted on January 30, 2012 by Jón Frímann This morning there was an earthquake swarm in Katla volcano. This is the first earthquake swarm of the year 2012. This earthquake swarm is most likely created by an dike intrusion. Based on how dense the earthquake swarm appears to be. But that is often an sign of an dike intrusion in an volcano. How this earthquake swarm is going to evolve over the next few hours impossible to know for sure. That depends on what the magma is going to do that is creating this earthquake swarm. The earthquakes can be seen on my geophone web page here (English). The geophone at Skeiðflöt is going to go up this week. So all activity in Katla volcano is going to appear more clearly following that. Sadly. No high resolution of the earthquakes that take place is not going to be available until I move back to Denmark. As my main earthquake computer is offline and is going to be so until that time.

I am going to post updates to this if anything more happens. But it might take a while as I am travelling today to Reykjavík area and tomorrow I am going to Skeiðflöt tomorrow. [link to www.jonfr.com]

Quoting: Luisport

thanks for that Luis. So much to look out for today with this, the earthquakes and El Hierro, which is lava bombing today :)

I found this website (in french) [link to www.activolcans.info] that happens to still be following Nabro volcano – and it says there was some activity today – and that Toulouse VAAC confirmed a small 3000m plume on the 7th of Jan.

Please check this seismogram for Santorini, the one everyone refers to is nearly always messy and incorrect. This one is on Nea Kameni and shows a much cleaner impression of what goes on below: [link to www.geophysics.geol.uoa.gr]

The seismicity at Santorini in Greece continues – however, the situation has become confusing as there have also been a number of earthquakes nearby between Santorini and Crete that have gotten people’s attention as well. However, regarding the volcano in question, the most important news was some of the first pieces of information about what might be happening at Santorini. An article in a Greek newspaper this weekend has information from Greek scientists watching the volcano. The article mentioned that the caldera has seen ~1 cm/yr deflation between 1993-2010, but since then, the caldera has inflated slightly. The inflation is to the north side of the caldera and seems to be correlated with seismic swarms. Carbon dioxide emissions are currently at 39 tonnes/day, which is relatively low in the grand scheme of volcanoes (usually we think hundreds of tonnes/day), but is a change for Santorini. The seawater in the caldera has also been warming, although the extent of this warming is not mentioned. Finally, in the most ambiguous piece of information, an intrusion has been inferred at 4 km depth north of Nea Kameni where the seismicity is centered. The volume has been listed at “107 cubic meters”, however I am fairly confident that it should be 107 cubic meters, which is a fairly small volume. Take all of this news in total, and it does appear that magma is intruding under Santorini – the question remains: will it erupt and if so, how large of an eruption might we expect.

Activity at Mexico’s most famous volcano seems to be picking up over the last few months. This week saw another ~3 km / ~10,000 ash plume from Popocatépetl and CENAPRED has been reporting increasing seismicity at the volcano. There has also been consistent glow at night from the summit region – all signs that magma is very close to the surface. You can see some footage of this eruption and evacuations in an oddly captivating Indian news story (that seems to have gotten a little carried away with the use of moving arrows and zooms). CENAPRED’s latest report has Popo on Yellow Alert status and they expect more small explosions like the one from this week to continue. There is a 12-km radius around the crater that has now been declared “off limits” The viewing isn’t great right now, but you can also watch Popo via webcam as well. In another story related to Popo, the volcano has apparently now lost 5 of the 7 glaciers that used to be hosted on its edifice. This might seem inconsequential, but many of the local communities near the volcano rely on the runoff/meltwater from these glaciers for their drinking water, so the loss of the glaciers could have implications in local water. [link to www.wired.com]

Tuesday 31st January 2012 Grimsvotn Volcano, Iceland A glacial outburst occurred at Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland on 29th January 2012. High snowfall was followed by heavy rain and elevated temperatures. This caused caused snow to melt, damaging parts of the Ring Road between Núpsvötn and Gígjukvísl in Skeiðarársandur, as well as to the east of Gígjukvísl. No eruption occurred at the volcano. More on Grimsvotn volcano... Volcanoes of Iceland...

Saturday 28th January 2012 Sangay Volcano, Ecuador On Monday 23rd January 2012, there was an increase in volcanic activity at Sangay volcano, Ecuador. Pilots reported ash emissions drifting south of the volcano. Satellite images showed the present of a hotspot at the volcano on 24th January. More on Sangay volcano... Volcanoes of Ecuador... [link to www.volcanolive.com]

February 1, 2012 – ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The warning level for a remote Alaska volcano has been raised after a new lava dome began forming, indicating the mountain could explode and send up an ash cloud that could threaten aircraft. The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Tuesday elevated the alert status for Cleveland Volcano. Officials say the new lava dome was spotted in the summit crater. The observatory says as of Monday, the dome was about 130 feet in diameter. There have been no eruptions since Dec. 25 and Dec. 29, which destroyed the earlier lava dome built up over the fall. Cleveland is a 5,675-foot peak on an uninhabited island 940 miles southwest of Anchorage. Authorities say sudden eruptions could occur at any time, and ash clouds 20,000 feet above sea level are possible. –Sac Bee [link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]